An anonymous source has advised The Write Agenda™ (TWA) that Author P.N. Elrod was hit with “another” cease and desist order.

Apparently, numerous Tate Publishing authors, with Facebook and other electronic services, provided information to Tate Officials which were sent to them from Author P.N. Elrod. Tate’s Officials and legal team apparently followed Author P.N. Elrod’s activities on line for several months and gathered more than enough documentation to proceed with a civil action against her.

Apparently, Author P. N. Elrod was advised that should she continue her harassment, Tate Publishing would file suit immediately and use the alleged defamatory and inappropriate material against her and her web hosting company in Monterey, California (they would also be named in the lawsuit if required).

The anonymous source further indicated that Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC monitored Author P.N. Elrod’s activities and has complete records of each alleged statement of libel and defamation she has made against the company. In addition, Tate Publishing apparently also has several authors who wish to be included in the lawsuit against Author P.N. Elrod for contacting them with incorrect, harassing and defaming information allegedly beyond opinion without credible facts.

TWA’s anonymous source stated that Tate Publishing is also aware of additional web site operations which Author P.N. Elrod apparently frequents and observes her statements of libel there as well. Apparently, Tate’s legal team advised Author P.N. Elrod that that if her actions continue they will contact the legal department with Facebook about her actions, which may violate their standards.

TRW’s source stated that Author P.N. Elrod was given an ultimatum. In order to avoid civil action being filed against her the following was requested to be made within five (5) business days and confirmation to Tate’s legal team’s office: 1) Immediately stop contacting Tate staff, authors and prospective authors concerning Tate Publishing with her alleged defamation of their company and staff; and 2) Delete all current posts on the world-wide web concerning Tate Publishing and do not make any future posts.

TWA’s anonymous source indicated that Author P.N. Elrod sent back a certified copy of the letter noting that she has complied with all the demands. TWA has confirmed that the blogs/post have been removed. Apparently, no further action will be taken by Tate at this time.

TWA’s anonymous source indicated that Tate Publishing has taken this action and is preparing more legal action to those who have made such statements without credible facts.

Stay tuned!

Note: P.N. Elrod? Yes, her, she indicated that the SFWA has individuals that can “hack” accounts? See our post at:

We are a group of individuals, writers, want-to-be authors and inquisitive wordsmiths that have become “literally” numb from reading the numerous author help related blog posts. Many of these postings are subjective and do not offer any substantial documentation regarding purported claims regarding publishers and other industry professionals. In addition, many of these sites have become nothing more than complaint boards that disseminate speculative claims without any substantiation. We do not discount the validity of some claims made. However, we want to question both sides of an issue and to assist other authors in making informed decisions. If a fact is proven true we’ll support it. If a claim is twisted, slanted, incomplete, not updated (retracted) or smells like innuendo . . . we’ll challenge it.

We will not engage in self-promotion, post links to our books or encourage you, in any way, to purchase our books.

“If you claim that you’ve “disproved” Yog’s Law, or that you’ve found “a fallacy” in Yog’s Law, or that Yog’s Law “doesn’t apply,” either you’re a scammer, you’re a dupe of scammers, or you have no clue about publishing.”

“A few years ago an individual created out of thin air a concept he called “Yog’s Law.” I have no idea who “Yog” is or what planet he may be from but just like Superman there is “kryptonite” in this concept and that “kryptonite” is the facts. His over-simplistic “Money always flows to the writer” is his central argument. The problem with that concept is that he makes it sound like a movie script. Write a book, ask mom how good she thinks it is, send it to a publisher, they take it and make you a millionaire while you sit at home and watch TV. Of course writers should make money for their work, but the premise that they will never have to spend money if they publish, promote or market their books is incredibly naïve . . . . “Money flows to the author? . . . . Sure, J.K. Rowling and James Patterson are multi-millionaires, but they have each cranked out several books, have movie deals, and have to sell an incredible volume of books. They are in the extreme minority, of which I am certain Mr. Yog’s Law is not a member.””

– Richard Tate

Reader Responses

“James [Macdonald], I am really surprised by your latest post about Tate being liars. Up until this point I had thought that you wanted to have an open and honest conversation about Tate . . . . That led me to believe that you were sincere in engaging in this discussion but at this point, I am starting to question your intent . . . . The fault in Yog’s Law is that it does not provide for a set point in time at which one should take stock of his or her net gains or losses . . . . As writers, if we are to be objective, we should look at all sides of a story and try to gather as much reaearch [sic] as possible . . . . James [Macdonald], I, like you, believe in providing the general public with all of the facts so they can make informed decisions that best meet their specific needs which is why I came her [sic] in the first place. I believe that is what your original intent was in writing Yog’s law. I also believe that is what Anne’s and Victoria’s original intents were. However, I’m starting to get the feeling that you are all just writing to defend your point of view and not really to seek the truth . . . . Sorry, but to me, that is more of a personal attack and is immaterial to the issues being discussed here. . . . Just one last observation on your post. I find it interesting that you got so upset about Tate writing about you and your beliefs on one of their blogs when this has been commonplace for you to do over the years through the forums you frequent. Please believe me when I tell you that I don’t say that in an argumentative way, rather, it’s simply an observation. (Emphasis Added)

”Money can flow in any direction you want, but it’s your job to know where every penny goes and what you’re getting for those pennies.”

– Mark Barrett

“A few years ago an individual created out of thin air a concept he called “Yog’s Law.” I have no idea who “Yog” is or what planet he may be from but just like Superman there is “kryptonite” in this concept and that “kryptonite” is the facts. His over-simplistic “Money always flows to the writer” is his central argument. The problem with that concept is that he makes it sound like a movie script. Write a book, ask mom how good she thinks it is, send it to a publisher, they take it and make you a millionaire while you sit at home and watch TV. Of course writers should make money for their work, but the premise that they will never have to spend money if they publish, promote or market their books is incredibly naïve.”

– Richard Tate

“Author and publishing watchdog James D. MacDonald has in times gone by proclaimed that ”Money should flow toward the author,” better known as Yog’s Law. In today’s day and age this law holds true if, and only if, an author is traditionally published.”

“Money flows to the author? . . . . Sure, J.K. Rowling and James Patterson are multi-millionaires, but they have each cranked out several books, have movie deals, and have to sell an incredible volume of books. They are in the extreme minority, of which I am certain Mr. Yog’s Law is not a member.”

– Richard Tate

“The current publishing business model which relies on advances against royalties and the consignment method of selling cannot be sustained. A robust publishing industry is good for the reader. Yog’s law is not immutable. Writing is a creative act but selling one’s writing and making a living off one’s writing is a business act.” (Emphasis Added).

“A mainstream publisher traditionally assumes the risk of publication and production costs, selects the works to be published, edits the author’s text, and provides for marketing and distribution, provides the ISBN and satisfies whatever legal deposit and copyright registration formalities are required. Such a publisher normally pays the author a fee, called an advance, for the right to publish the author’s work; and further payments, called royalties, based on the sales of the work. This led to James D. Macdonald‘s . . . dictum, “Money should always flow toward the author” (sometimes called Yog’s Law).”

– Anonymous

“Yog’s Law is very simple: Money flows toward the author. For commercial publishing, this is absolutely true. Once you’ve moved away from it, you’re out of the realm of commercial publishing.” (Emphasis added)